Daily Hotel (CEO, In Shik Shin), the largest domestic hotel and restaurant booking platform, published the 2017 summer vacation trend report. Daily Lifestyle Research Lab announced that the keywords that best describe the vacation trend this year included travel alone, suburbs nearby Seoul, luxury hotel and staycation.

Luxury hotel booking accounts for 51% of the total booking, which is more than double the pension bookings for summer vacation. When asked about the purpose of the trip, 25.9% of the bookers said they plan to travel alone. Seoul and the nearby suburb area are in third place after Jeju Island and Gangwon Province. In particular, customers who settled in Seoul and the suburb area showed relatively frequent short trips.

High demand for a short stay at the luxury hotel near home reveals that the travelers want to avoid crowded places for summer vacation. Travelers who chose staycation enjoy spa and relaxation activities, including snorkeling, as well as activities such as parties and camping.

In addition, the number of bookings during the vacation season peaked between the last week of June and the second week of July, and the booking rate doubled every week. In particular, the increase in bookings for the third week of July was five times that of the first week of July. The lead time to prepare for the trip is gradually decreasing, with the average lead time between the room booking and check-in being 7 days.

As for the summer vacation areas, Jeju Island and Gangwon Province showed a stronger uptrend as the holiday season approached. Even though Jeju Island is a popular holiday destination that does not suffer from the seasonal effects, it showed a 400% increase from its first week of June in the second week of July, when summer vacation is near. Gangwon showed the same trend for summer vacation. In the second week of July, Jeju Seogwipo city was the most favored as a vacation area, Gangwon province preferred Gangneung and Sokcho, Gyeonggi Province, Gapyeong, Busan Haeundae and Gyeongju took over the baton.

CEO In Shik Shin said “In addition to Jeju and Gangwon provinces, which are popular traditional holiday destinations, the rise of luxury hotels in the suburbs nearby Seoul is becoming more prominent. Especially, I feel that the age range is getting wider. If you are looking for a pleasant place to stay on summer vacation, you will find the best choice on Daily Hotel app which has a strong network with over 95% of domestic luxury hotels.”

Meanwhile, Daily Hotel is offering an overnight free pass for guests who book 7 nights until the end of the year. In addition, the company is planning to begin the raffle ‘Mansur Event.’ The three winners will get a coupon for 7 nights at any luxury hotel listed on Daily Hotel. Anyone who booked on Daily Hotel platform can register for the event.

Bok Yeon is a Chief Communications Officer at TripBtoZ, an online travel agency that operates based on the personalized recommendation engine. He makes the best out of his passion for travel by writing about innovative travel startups in Korea. If you want to see the story of your startup on Tech For Korea, please reach him at bokyeon.hwang@techforkorea.com.